2018 Ford Figo facelift revealed

Official images of the new Ford Figo facelift have been released online, delivering a complete view of the modifications that the mid-life refresh has brought. The new Figo, sold as the Ka+ in European markets, gets minor cosmetic tweaks to the exterior and interior. Changes on the outside include larger headlights and a new front grille with a chrome surround, while tweaks to cabin see the dashboard redesigned. The cabin also features the 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system that’s available on the recently launched Figo-based Freestyle cross-hatch. This system comes with Ford’s Sync3 tech and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

For the European market, a 1.2-litre petrol engine in two states of tune –70hp and 85hp – and a 95hp, 1.5-litre diesel are on offer. Both engines are Euro-VI compliant and come with start/stop technology. Coming to changes on the inside, both the face lifted Figo and Aspire will gain a larger infotainment system. It will be a touchscreen unit placed prominently on the dashboard. This unit will run Ford’s SYNC3 infotainment interface. That means features such as voice assist, smartphone connectivity, Ford applications and also the emergency assist feature that regularly calls an emergency number in case of an accident.

Ford has also revealed the Ka+ Active, the crossover version of the Ka+, for the first time for European markets. It looks nearly identical to the Freestyle that has recently been revealed in India, from the black body cladding to the beefier styling. The American brand is expected to launch this face lifted version in India in the coming months. However, it may be powered by the new 96hp, 3-cylinder, 1.2-litre petrol engine that debuted on the Freestyle, rather than the present 88hp 1.2-litre motor. This would see it out-power rivals like the Hyundai Grand i10 (83hp, 1.2 petrol) and Maruti Swift (83hp, 1.2 petrol). A facelift for the Aspire compact sedan, which is also based on the Figo, is also probable in the upcoming months. Expect the design changes on the compact sedan to mirror those seen on the hatchback. Features such as twin airbags and ABS will be standard crossways variants, and the top-end variant will get an additional 4 curtain airbags to even better safety. The face lifted cars will launch in the second half of 2018. Prices of the new cars are likely to remain similar to the pre-facelift models.